Some bookies were prepared to offer 7/4 about a Derry victory, and even yours truly was happy to predict a Tyrone win! Should've known better.
Derry continued their good recent record in opening NFL games on Saturday night. since their return to Division 1 in 2006 they have won each of their five opening fixtures (Galway 2006,2007, Mayo 2008,2009), and the early two points helps take some pressure off any relegations concerns. But that won't be in Damian Cassidy's thoughts this week, neither will he dwell too much on the impressive nature of his side's victory. It's the first week in February.
What he can do though, is take the positives from this victory and try to build up a confidence and winning mentality within the camp. And there were a number of positives.
Firstly, Derry dug deep in the second half when, after initially holding a nine-point lead, Tyrone reduced the gap to four points. Derry defended well at this stage, with Gerard O'Kane leading from full-back; but more importantly, they got their hands on the football and used possession intelligently to take the sting out of the Tyrone fightback. This was in direct contrast to how Derry finished the game at Omagh in last year's fixture.
This was an industrious and efficient performance from an experimental Oak Leaf side, and Cassidy will be happy with how his side made the most out of their possession. 1-18 is excellent scoring in an opening league game. James Kielt was chief-executioner hitting six classy frees, while Raymond Wilkinson marked his return to inter-county action with 1-2. The Ballinderry man's work ethic and spirit epitomised Derry's purposeful display. Eoin Bradley had a fairly inconsistent evening, but he still managed to score four points. All in all, Derry's forwards had a solid showing, with Andrew McCartney and the very promising Declan Mullan also weighing in with points.
I was most interested in seeing how Gerard O'Kane and Mark Lynch performed in their new defensive roles. O'Kane had an excellent game. His intelligence and natural ability helped Derry turnover Tyrone attacks. When his confidence is up he's a hard man to stop and had numerous forays into Red Hand territory to help set up Derry scores. The same went for Mark Lynch, and he capped a strong display with two excellent points. Will these guys hold these positions come May? Hard to say right now, but it's worth persisting with during the league campaign.
Other stand-out performances came from Charlie Kielt and Declan Mullan (introduced towards the end of the first half). Kielt is a strong runner and did a good job of covering his full-back line and carrying the ball well from defence. Mullan added a new dimension when brought on. He offers so much in a half-forward role; working tirelessly to make himself constantly available for possession. And he had to suffer what seemed like a lot of unwarranted abuse from the Tyrone defence (Conor Gormley, and his knee specifically, the chief protaganist). Both players are possible Championship contenders.
Tyrone were generally poor. Bar the middle third of the first half when they hit four unanswered points, and a similar burst after Derry's goal, Mickey Harte's men struggled. They did a lot of things that Tyrone don't usually do. They must have landed about ten balls into Barry Gillis' hands, their passing was poor and they ran down cul-de-sacs. Their forward line did not function at all. Derry must take some credit for shoring up the central areas of the field, but it's unlikely that Tyrone could be as rusty come the summer. The Tyrone contingent will likely point to the absence of O'Neill, Dooher and Cavanagh, but Derry were also without Paddy Bradley, Enda Muldoon, Niall MCusker, Kevin MGuckin and the McGoldricks.
Overall Cassidy will obviously be aware that the result has little meaning, but he will have liked what he saw from his side. His players showed character and determination, and a few of the newer players look like they may fit into the desired system of play.
A few other points from the game:
- The game was simmering nicely just before half-time after Eoin Bradley let Conor Gormley know of his presence. Perhaps the half-time whistle was a good thing.
- Derry had great width to their play. The likes of Hinphey, Kielt and Mullan constantly providing an outlet.
- At one stage Ryan McMenamin was marking Brian Mullan. Talk about a cancelling-out match.
- A few early yellow-cards. Last year, they would have been early substitutions. Thankfully, that rule didn't stick.
- The new rule, where the referee doesn't blow for half/full-time until the ball goes out of play, might cause some confusion. Derry conceded a point at the end of each half, when the ball could have been kicked dead.
- From a Derry perspective I was happy to see Kyle Coney go off, and not Colm Cavanagh.
- With McGuckin, McCusker and three McGoldricks not featuring, Derry are adding a bit of depth to their defensive options.
- Probably a bit early for the olés - and we've been stung by this before - but it's so difficult to resist.
- They were selling Derry bedsheets outside the ground.
- How much does Charlie Kielt look like Liam Hinphey?
No comments:
Post a Comment